Profile image

Heinkel 162 A-2 Volksjäger

2,977 DatPorscheGuy15  13 days ago

The Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger (German, "People's Fighter") was a German single-engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe late in World War II. Developed under the Emergency Fighter Program, it was designed and built quickly and made primarily of wood as metals were in very short supply and prioritised for other aircraft. Volksjäger was the Reich Air Ministry's official name for the government design program competition won by the He 162 design. Other names given to the plane include Salamander, which was the codename of its wing-construction program, and Spatz ("Sparrow"), which was the name given to the plane by the Heinkel aviation firm.

The aircraft was notable for its small size. It had a distinctive top-mounted engine which, combined with the aircraft's low landing gear, allowed the engine to be easily accessed for maintenance. This made bailing out of the aircraft without hitting the engine difficult, and the He 162 was the first single-engine aircraft provided with an ejection seat in an operational setting. The small size left little room for fuel, which combined with the inefficient engine resulted in very low endurance - on the order of 20 minutes - and it only had room for two autocannon, making it relatively underarmed for the era.

Armament:

2× 20mm MG151 autocannon

controls:

Ag8- engine
Trim to trim
VTOL for flaps

Spotlights

General Characteristics

  • Created On Android
  • Wingspan 21.2ft (6.5m)
  • Length 29.8ft (9.1m)
  • Height 7.6ft (2.3m)
  • Empty Weight 4,701lbs (2,132kg)
  • Loaded Weight 6,277lbs (2,847kg)

Performance

  • Power/Weight Ratio 0.805
  • Wing Loading 40.4lbs/ft2 (197.2kg/m2)
  • Wing Area 155.5ft2 (14.4m2)
  • Drag Points 1094

Parts

  • Number of Parts 160
  • Control Surfaces 8
  • Performance Cost 693